


About Love

by Justletmein



Series: Pragma [2]
Category: Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: (part II), Asexual Character, Asexual Characters, Asexual Relationship, Awkward Senku, F/M, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Self-Indulgent, Tsukasa is a great friend, english isn't my first language, no beta we die like men, return of jealous Senku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:35:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26446438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justletmein/pseuds/Justletmein
Summary: “My Mentalist” were apparently the words of his new personal circle of Hell. They were nice, made him feel warm inside, but also hurt, because Senku wasn’t aware of the heavy truth behind them.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen & Ishigami Senkuu, Asagiri Gen & Shishiou Tsukasa, Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu, Ogawa Yuzuriha/Oki Taiju (mentioned), Ruri/Chrome (mentioned)
Series: Pragma [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922473
Comments: 8
Kudos: 170





	About Love

**Author's Note:**

> An unintentional continuation for [First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25392058), so I recommend reading it first.  
> Soon after finishing that fic, the idea of angsty Gen as a result of Senku overusing “my Mentalist” began to bug me so I needed to do something about it…  
> The title is from Marina’s song, which helped me finish this.  
> Hope you have fun reading it!
> 
> [Versión en español](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29852712)

“My Mentalist.”

Such a bold thing to say.

Fortunately, he could rest assured that Gen wouldn’t be getting any wrong ideas. After all, even if the mentalist was surely familiarized with the concept of Freudian slips, he was also probably aware of how the notion of them revealing hidden desires was long outdated.

If anything, his slip was nothing more than his anxiousness talking which, given the amnesia situation, had been more than justified.

However, being the bastard he was, Gen probably wouldn’t let it go any time soon. Unless, he did something about it first.

How was the saying? If you can't beat them, join them?

“I need you to get me a few things, my Mentalist,” he said casually, giving him a list with ingredients. He ignored everyone’s gasps of shock, pretending what he said didn’t have any particular meaning. Although he couldn’t help but look towards Gen direction, feeling a mix of amusement with something else when he discovered how red Gen’s face turned.

_Interesting._

So he decided to casually call him “my Mentalist” more often. Casually, like it wasn’t making his heart do flips whenever those words left his lips. And then, he would smile sardonically whenever he caught Gen by surprise, a light blush on his face. Such an unusual sight to see.

He wasn’t expecting it to be so… exhilarating.

***

“My Mentalist” were apparently the words of his new personal circle of Hell. They were nice, made him feel warm inside, but also hurt, because Senku wasn’t aware of the heavy truth behind them.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell him to stop, that would raise questions. He considered avoiding Senku until he eventually got bored and things went back to normal, but that would probably be too obvious and would be like confessing he actually had a problem with it.

He could only think of one alternative: playing along, which could end either with embarrassing Senku enough so that he would stop doing it or, on the contrary, to it becoming a “private joke” between them. Which option he preferred? He wasn’t sure. He like the sound of it, but it also hurt… Maybe he would eventually get used to it?

However, he soon realized that he was at a great disadvantage. After all, it wasn’t too out of character from him to refer to Senku (or anyone really) as “dear”, having gone as far as to refer to him as “my dear Senku” a couple of times.

“Are you okay?” Ukyo asked as they walked through the forest on a scouting mission for some herbs Senku asked for.

“Not really, Senku-chan has been really eanmay lately.” That was a way to put it.

“Really? One would expect him to be nicer to his boyfriend.” Ukyo joked, focused on looking for what they had been commissioned.

“Very funny, Ukyo-chan!”

“Isn’t he?” He asked, having the audacity to look surprised.

“No, Senku-chan’s heart is for science and science only. Really, Ukyo-chan, you should know this by now.” Gen responded with a dramatic sigh. However, Ukyo didn’t seem amused by his theatrics.

“Then what about him starting to call you ‘my Mentalist’ all of a sudden?” Of course everyone had noticed that slight change. However, Ukyo was the first one to ask about it. Gen couldn’t help but wonder if the rest of the villagers had made the same assumptions.

“That’s just Senku-chan’s new bullying device.”

“So it bothers you.”

“No, I mean… He does it with a mean intention, that’s what actually bothers me.” Which was technically true.

Ukyo narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything and Gen had to resist the urge of insisting. It was better if they dropped the subject altogether.

***

“So we are going to _parent-trap_ them?” Ryusui asked, gaining more than one confused look from the villagers.

“No, we shouldn’t intervene.” Ukyo sighed.

“Then why are you telling us all that?”

“Because it’s so frustrating! Gen is a mentalist, and a very good one, I might add. How does he not notice it?!”

Tsukasa, who had been silent up until that point, hummed in thought.

“I think Senku should be more forward regarding his affection.” He said, startling everyone as they had assumed he wasn’t paying attention to their gossiping.

“Right, Gen already kind of confessed so it’s up to Senku really.” Kohaku agreed, earning new surprised gasps.

“He did what?!”

“Gen said that he liked him when we gave Senku the observatory for his birthday.” Kohaku remembered.

“Yeah, and Senku answered saying that that was cringy, but they both laughed about it so we all thought it was an old timer’s way of accepting each other’s feelings.” Chrome added.

The “old-timer’s” of the group stared at them in disbelief.

“Chrome, Kohaku… We’re going to need more details about that.” Yuzuriha patiently asked.

***

“Why are you all looking at me like that?” Senku asked when they meet up to eat after spending all the morning busy making blueprints in the lab.

Even Taiju and Yuzuriha were staring at him like disappointed parents.

“Yeah, Senku-chan, what did you do?” Gen wondered, as he had been picking flowers with Suika and Mirai after he brought back the herbs with Ukyo.

“Senku,” Tsukasa called, standing up. “I need to talk with you.”

“What is it?” Senku asked, managing to not get intimidated despite the tense atmosphere.

Tsukasa stared briefly at Gen’s direction, then back at him.

“Follow me.” He said, leaving the area. Senku mumbled something but followed after, curiosity getting the best of him.

Gen was about to follow them too, when he was stopped by Yuzuriha’s hand on his shoulder.

“Gen, I’m so sorry.”

He looked in Ukyo’s direction.

 _Dammit_.

***

“Because of our friendship and my respect for you,” Tsukasa started as soon as they were far enough from the rest of the crew.

“Lame,” Senku interrupted, picking his ear in disinterest. He had initially been worried, considering the tense atmosphere earlier. However, the fact that Tsukasa didn’t want to talk about it in front of everyone and what he was now saying, made it seemed like was just something personal.

“I will warn you,” the heaviness of those words made him reconsider.

What could it be? Both old and new allies were working together just fine, the major conflict being that fight between Magma, Yo and Mozu, which, given their personalities, was to be expected and probably wouldn’t be the last. Maybe it was something related to Gen? That would explain why he was the only one who didn’t seem aware of what was going on. But, what could it be? As far as he knew, he was back in perfect health and…

“I’m going to confess to Gen” Tsukasa announced.

“You… what?”

Maybe he heard wrong.

“I’m just telling you to give you a heads up in case you wanted to do something.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I think you already know the answer. If you decide to act or not about it, it’s all up to you.” Tsukasa declared with an air of finality, turning to go back to where their friends were eating.

“Wait, this is not over. You can’t just say something like that and leave!” Senku said, hurrying to stand in front of him.

“Why not?”

Great question.

Unfortunately for Senku, he realized he didn’t have an answer like he usually did.

“It’s… First of all, what do you expect me to do? Give you my blessing? Wish you luck?”

“Do you?”

“In case you haven’t notice, I’m not his father, and even if I was, the concept of giving your blessing is…”

“I know that, but, do you wish me luck?”

“I-“ Senku stopped, his mind unusually blank. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

“You’re stalling.”

“There’s nothing to stall. I’m just trying to understand why you would make all that fuss just to tell me that!”

“You really want me to explain it to you?”

“Please, be my guest!”

“You and Gen are pretty close, so I thought it would be fair to tell you before pursuing him. Even if Gen has the final word about it, won't you regret it if you end up wondering if you could have changed the outcome?”

“That’s just assuming that you will be successful.” Tsukasa smiled.

“So you know what I’m talking about.”

Senku clenched his jaw.

“You don’t know that.”

“I may not. But even if I fail, I won’t give up easily.”

“Sounds pretty stalkerish to me.”

“Are we finished yet? The food must be cold by now.”

“You’re the one who asked to come here in the first place.”

“Then, let’s go back.” Without waiting for an answer, Tsukasa moved around him and continued his way.

Senku followed in silence, still trying to understand what was going on.

Tsukasa suddenly decided that he liked Gen and, for some weird reason, thought it was important to tell him about his plans of confessing. He wondered if this was the result of something that had happened when Gen was with amnesia. As far as he knew, amnesic Gen was quite attached to Tsukasa, but he never once thought it was reciprocal.

It wasn’t his problem.

Except that when he saw Gen waiting for them he couldn’t stop himself from talking before Tsukasa could open his mouth.

“After we are finished eating, I’m going to need your help with some stuff, Mentalist.”

“Sure thing, Senku-chan.” Gen answered, still looking at them with curiosity, but a little more relaxed, probably because he noticed they weren’t actually fighting.

“When you are finished, I want to talk with you.”

 _Dammit, Tsukasa_.

“You may if you finish with the rest of the power team tasks.” Senku instructed, ignoring their fellow companions complains.

“I never thought you would be one to abuse of their power.”

“Don’t know what you are talking about. We have a lot of work to do and we are behind schedule.”

“Fine. After dinner then.” Tsukasa told Gen, who stared at him clearly confused.

“Sure?”

“Unfortunately, my Mentalist has to help me with some star charting after dinner.”

“I-I do?”

“Yes. Come on, we have lots of work to do.” Senku answered quickly, taking a bowl with his already cold food with one hand and Gen’s wrist with the other, preventing Tsukasa from finding another time to talk with Gen.

However, there was so much Senku could do before they eventually managed to agree to meet in private.

One may wonder why he put so much effort on stopping it from happening in the first place when it didn’t matter. There was no way Gen would accept Tsukasa’s confession. Although the memory of Gen sticking to Tsukasa lingering in his mind begged to differ. But that was different, he argued to himself, back then Tsukasa was the only familiar face to Gen. That Gen didn’t know anyone else, that Gen didn’t know him.

But what difference would it make in this case?

Tsukasa seemed to believe that there was something he could do about it and as much as Senku didn’t want to think about it, he knew what it was.

However, why would he confess to Gen?

Yes, he enjoyed Gen’s company and cared about the mentalist as much as he cared about any of his friends. But while at this point he would probably celebrate if Taiju and Yuzuriha finally got together, not that he would tell any of them, and would feel quite happy if Chrome and Ruri confessed their feelings, which at this point was just as likely to happen, he didn’t feel the same enthusiasm at the idea of Gen and Tsukasa.

Maybe because he never saw it coming?

Hardly, considering he actually thought of the possibility of Gen liking Tsukasa when he lost his memories. Once things returned to normal, he just forgot about it. After all, he was never one to care about that kind of things.

He still wasn’t.

Yet, it would also be a lie if he said that he never thought about Gen. But that was because Gen was always pestering him, so when he was busy somewhere else, Senku always noticed. That was just a logical reaction.

He might have also gotten distracted once or twice during some tedious task thinking about the mentalist. One moment he was completely focused on his formulas, the next he was thinking about calling him over just to have some company or remembering something about a particular moment they shared, which would lead to him having a warm fuzzy feeling inside his chest and sometimes even finding himself smiling like an idiot…

Senku groaned.

***

“I’m sorry I had worried you all, but I’m fine, really. I wasn’t declaring my love for Senku-chan when I said that.” Gen explained.

 _At least, not intentionally._ He added to himself.

“I see.” Tsukasa answered. If it wasn’t because of the awkwardness of the situation, Gen would have been quite impressed that this was what the man had been so insistent in talking about. “What about what you told Ukyo about the ‘my Mentalist’ issue?”

“That’s how you’re calling it?” Gen couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s really not that bad… Half of the time Senku-chan forgets to use it, and I’m sure that eventually he will drop it altogether.”

“If you say so,” Tsukasa said thoughtfully. “I can help you in the meantime.”

“Really?” Gen asked excited. That way he would be able to avoid Senku without raising any suspicions. “That would be great, thank you Tsukasa-chan!”

***

It had been exactly one week since Tsukasa confessed to Gen.

How did he know?

Because he saw them when they returned together and, since then, they had spent every waking moment together. Whenever he wanted to talk with Gen, Tsukasa would be there, and whenever he gave them a task, one would offer to accompany the other.

Guess they were happy.

“Senku,” Yuzuriha voice called before entering inside his lab with Taiju following closely behind. “I know you don’t like talking about your feelings but you have been in a pretty bad mood lately and spending a lot of time locked in the lab. We are worried about you.”

“There is nothing to talk about.”

“Is it because of Gen?” Taiju asked, earning an incredulous look from Senku.

“How is it that a big oaf like you guess it on his first try?!”

“You mean to tell us you didn’t know?” Yuzuriha gasped in surprise.

“I didn’t know what?” Senku asked irritated.

“Your feelings for Gen!” once again, Taiju answered correctly.

“I’m seriously going to throw you out.” Senku replied in frustration. “How long have you known?”

“Well, we began to suspect there was something when we joined you back at the village.” Yuzuriha remembered. “I mean, you have always valued having your personal space so it was quite surprising when we saw you spend most of your time together and pretty close to each other too.”

Well, that was a dead giveaway.

Senku groaned.

If he was _that_ obvious, then why didn’t the mentalist say anything about it? Was he just sparing him from the embarrassment?

“It’s okay, Senku! There’s nothing to be ashamed of!” Taiju smiled enthusiastically. “This is actually great! Now that you know how you feel, you can confess!”

“Are you kidding me?!”

“Why not?” Yuzuriha asked, an equally encouraging smile on her face. “I know it might sound scary but…”

“Have you guys forgotten that he is dating Tsukasa?”

“Huh?” They blinked.

“Oh… that.” Yuzuriha said, before Taiju could add something.

“What?”

“I think it would be better if you talk with Gen about it.”

“No way. If he is happy with Tsukasa, then I’m not going to go and make him uncomfortable by telling him that I…” He stopped himself when he noticed his friends excited expressions. Taiju even seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“You…” They encouraged.

“Please, don’t make me say it.” He grumbled, feeling his face heat up. One thing was admitting it to himself, but saying it aloud in front of his friends was on a whole new level.

“Only if you tell Gen.” Yuzuriha answered.

“But Tsukasa…”

“If I tell you that they aren’t dating, will you confess to Gen or go back to hiding from your feelings?”

“I wasn’t hiding.” He replied crossing his arms defensively. “I just didn’t give them too much thought as to acknowledge them.”

“Even if you were hurting Gen by doing so?”

“I was what?” Even Taiju sighed in disappointment.

“Have you ever considered that Gen might feel the same way?” Yuzuriha patiently asked.

“He’s with Tsukasa.” Senku repeated, but given his friends insistent stares, he knew they weren’t satisfied with that response. “Even if he did, and that is a big _if_ , this all too new for me.” He finally confessed. “I mean, I’m not exactly sure of what I want nor what I’m willing to give, so what would that mean to Gen?”

“That he is important enough for you to be willing to try. I doubt anyone is completely sure about those things.” Yuzuriha smiled. “You just figure them out as you go.”

“What if it all goes wrong?”

“What if it all goes great?” Taiju asked in return, leaving him speechless.

“You’ve never gave up before, don’t start now.” Yuzuriha added.

***

The fact that he was able to find Gen without Tsukasa was already a good sign. He was showing a new magic trick to Suika… and Mirai.

Right.

Tsukasa probably liked the idea of his boyfriend having a good relationship with his sister.

“Hey, Senku!” Suika waved upon noticing him.

“Long time no see, Senku-chan.” Gen playfully smiled.

“And who’s fault is that?” He asked in return, gaining a raised eyebrow while the girls stared at them with clear curiosity.

“Oh!” Suika exclaimed at the sudden realization of what was happening. “Come on, Mirai! Let’s see if Francois has finished making the cookies!” She said, leaving with the still confused girl. Senku would definitely thank her for that later.

“You have been spending an awful amount of time with Tsukasa lately.”

“And you with the lab.” Gen answered in return.

“You can’t date a lab.”

“So that’s what you think we are doing?”

“I don’t know. Are you?” He crossed his arms. Sure, confess… He won’t do that to Gen if he is already in a relationship. That would put them both in an awkward situation and he would much rather be his friend than losing him altogether.

Gen laughed.

“I should have guessed that much.” Senku raised his eyebrow. “Don’t you think everyone has been acting weird lately?”

“Now that you mention it…” He did felt that everyone was giving him mocking smiles whenever Gen left him to be with Tsukasa, but he thought that was just his imagination getting the worse of him. Well, everyone except Yuzuriha and Taiju, who looked at him with sympathy and Francois, with something akin to pity. “You played me.”

“For once, I am innocent.” Gen replied, raising his hands. “Although you could say that I’m guilty of not noticing sooner… I’m really losing my touch, aren’t I?”

“10 billion percent.” Senku replied, noticing how this was the perfect opening to change the direction of the conversation. Now that it was clear that Gen wasn’t with Tsukasa, they could both act as if that conversation never happened and everything could return back to normal.

It was really tempting.

Senku sighed in defeat.

“It was such a stupid plan, but incredibly, they were right about something.” Senku continued, trying to ignore his sudden nerves. That never happened to him before… but, then again, he had never felt like this for anyone before either. “I always knew that you are important to me.” He admitted, ignoring Gen’s surprised gasp so that he wouldn’t lose his focus. “But I’ve recently realized that I might like you as… more than a friend.” He looked down as he cringed internally at his wording.

“I… like you as more than a friend too.” When Senku raised his eyes, he saw that Gen was smiling fondly at him and knew that he had screwed up.

“I’m sorry I can’t offer you something better than that.”

“Something better?”

“Yes, I… I can name all chemicals involved on that giddiness you make me feel whenever we are together but I don’t know what it means in terms of what I want to do about it.” He tried to explain, certain that that wasn’t how confessions were supposed to go.

“Do you want us to continue being together?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s more than enough.”

“But I-”

“Senku-chan, I feel the same way too, you know?” Gen interrupted with a smile. “I like you for who you are, not for what you are not. Whatever I might have done to make you believe that I expect anything else from our relationship, it’s simply not true. All I really want is to stay by your side for as long as you will have me.”

“Careful with what you say, I might take your word for it.” Senku joked, feeling himself relax. “It’s the same from me too.”

“Now who’s the one who should be careful?” Gen laughed and not for the first time, Senku noticed how much he liked that sound.

“Now that’s settled, let’s get back to work.” Senku decided, back to his usual gremlin self.

Well, he _did_ say he liked him for who he was.

“That’s such a Senku-chan thing to say,” Gen dramatically sighed, but his smile betrayed him.

He was surprised when Senku offered his hand, trying to appear nonchalant despite the obvious blush on his face.

“Can’t go without my Mentalist.”

He still hadn’t figured a good response for that name, but now that it didn’t hurt anymore, he guessed he didn’t need to.

“Of course, my dear Senku-chan.” He said instead, taking his hand and laughing once again at the realization that it didn't matter what he said, but how he said it.

* * *

“And I know that I can be a very convincing actor, but have you ever seen me seriously pursuing anything else?”

“Well, we have been busy.”

“Need I remind you the guys reaction when we meet Amaryllis?”

“Maybe you don’t like girls.”

“We have enough hotties here.”

“So you admit it.”

“I have eyes, Senku-chan.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic wasn’t supposed to be so long, but Senku wouldn’t stop stalling…  
> Thank you for reading! Please, don’t hesitate to let me know what you think! 😊  
> You can also reach me on [Tumblr](https://fieryjeanne.tumblr.com/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fieryjeanne) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/fieryjeanne/) as @fieryjeanne  
> Have a great day! ✨


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